


Lost & Abandoned

by resistanceradio



Category: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 08:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resistanceradio/pseuds/resistanceradio
Summary: If the only way to secure success for the Resistance is to get two rival factions to become friendly, with high chance of failure and death, then so be it





	Lost & Abandoned

When John “Central” Bradford had announced that XCOM would be serving as a go between for the Reapers and the Skirmishers, most of the rookies on the avenger had opted out of duty, so the recently recovered Commander had selected the four soldiers herself. Corporal Nicoletta Moletta should have perhaps been honoured to be selected for a mission as important as this, but as she sat in the Skyranger, listening to the hum of the engines and the rattle of the wings against the wind, she found herself nervously reconsidering accepting this mission.

Nicoletta and her partner were going to be dropped off at the contact site for the Reapers. There they would meet a Reaper who called themselves ‘Outrider’ and would accompany her to the meeting point for the intervention. Nicoletta looked over at her partner for this mission, a British-Indian woman called Amy Roberts. Despite her overwhelmingly British name, Amy Roberts took pride in her heritage, even practicing Hinduism, despite ADVENT having outlawed all forms of religion in the first years of their world-domination. She was muttering under her breath in a musical language, elegant fingers pressed together in her lap. Nicoletta was broken from her thoughts once the familiar alert and red lights flickered to life in the Skyranger, indicating that she had to exit through the open hatch at the ship’s rear.

As the two soldiers jumped out and made contact with the ground, Nicoletta felt sick to her stomach. The entire city was covered in a miasmic green haze. Abandoned buildings stood on either side of her, towering over them like the walls of a prison. Windows glared down at them like the eyes of angry wardens. Amy Roberts double checked her ammunition, made sure her GREMLIN was connected to the Avenger’s network and then turned to Nicoletta.

“Shall we head out?” Nicoletta nodded and began making her way down the street to the meeting site, lugging the heavy gun and grenade launcher with her.

“ _Stay alert down there people_.” The voice of Central filtered in over the radio. “ _Just because this place is dead doesn’t mean it’s lifeless._ ”

“ _Central, I am detecting multiple biological signatures just ahead._ ” Tygan said. Nicoletta clenched her fingers a little tighter around her weapon. Finally, the two soldiers came to a crossroads. Abandoned cars littered the street, doors flung open and windows smashed. The thing that drew the most attention however, was the fire present in the middle of the street. Amy held up her hand as they approached and the two soldiers stared at the very alien head being roasted upon the flames.

“Huh.” Nicoletta said, lowering her gun. She turned to Amy and jerked a thumb at the head. “Smells like chicken.” Amy snorted out a short laugh, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of someone speaking.

“If you are hungry, there is more where that came from.” The person offered, voice floating out of the darkness ahead. Nicoletta was the first to react, hefting her mini-gun with surprising speed. The newcomer was hard to see at first in the dim light. She was garbed completely in black. A hooded leather jacket that reached down to her knees, a strap around her shoulders for her ammunition and a mask, all of which completely disguised her from view until she wished to make her presence known.

“Impressive reflexes,” The woman said, raising her hand to her mask. Her voice was as dry as the Sahara desert, almost completely emotionless. “But unnecessary.” The woman removed her mask to reveal that she was in fact who the soldiers had been looking for. Elena Dragunova, the Reaper known as Outrider, stared impassively at the two soldiers, analyzing them.

“ _Stand down. We’re all friends here._ ” Central said over the radio. Amy lowered her rifle first. Nicoletta was more reluctant.

“You are safe here. More so than you imagine.” Elena said. Behind her, Amy could see the glowing, reflective eyes of the masks of a dozen other Reapers, all of them armed to the teeth. A hint of a frown formed at Elena’s lips. “We’ll see if the same holds true for your Skirmishers.” She said. Amy opened her mouth to reply but before she could answer, a ear shattering sound ripped through the air. The first thought that the two soldiers had was that the scream sounded like a dying animal, a big one, but there was something just a little bit off about the tone of the scream. Elena looked away to where the sound came from, brows furrowed.

“Your presence already disturbs them.” She said. She walked off to the right, gesturing for the soldiers to follow. “We must move quickly. Come! My people will take care of this camp.” Amy and Nicoletta glanced at each other before quickly following the Reaper liaison.

“So are you going to tell us who ‘they’ are?” Amy asked, flicking the safety on her rifle off. Elena said nothing as she attached the mask back to her face. Central’s voice crackled to life over the radio before the conversation could continue.

“ _Uploading the coordinates to the rendezvous now. We have plotted the most direct route there_.” He said. Amy quickly checked with her GREMLIN, observing the map on the screen. The route went through a building just a few meters ahead. “ _We don’t know much about the contact that you’ll be meeting other than his name. Mox_.” Central said. Elena froze and suddenly whirled around her rifle clutched in her hand.

“Mox? Pratal Mox?” She said, her voice suddenly awash with emotion. “His death squads wiped out entire camps of my people in the first years of the war! You would dare do this!” She yelled, hand moving towards the trigger on her rifle. Amy raised her hands in a placating gesture.

“Woah! OK, just stay calm Elena.”

“ _Pretty sure hands are bloody on both sides of this fight. That’s the whole point of this intervention_.” Central said, his voice dry and unimpressed.. Elena, still fuming turned away from the soldiers, darting towards a car. Amy turned to look at Nicoletta, a wry smile on her face.

“Well this mission ought to be blast.” The three soldiers moved forwards, past a faintly glowing alien pod. Elena grimaced underneath her mask, trying to forget the horrors she witnessed caused by the alien artifacts. There were bodies strewn about around the base of the abhorrent machine. Amy couldn’t help but lean down next to the hollow cast of a human body. It crumbled under her delicate touch and she sighed deeply.

“I shouldn’t have come here. Too many memories…” She muttered. Elena could only imagine. All three of the women had only been children at the start of the Invasion. All of them had watched loved ones perish. Nicoletta placed a hand on her partners shoulder, trying to comfort her. Then the two soldier were pulled out of their memories by Elena.

“No more time for regrets,” She said, voice terse. “We are not alone!” The XCOM soldiers turned around, guns at the ready to see…

“Cazzo di merde!” Nicoletta hissed, reverting back to her mother language. The creature, from a distance, looked human. But it was a cracked grey colour, completely naked, and lesions on its skin revealed green tumours that leaked with every pained movement it made. Amy gasped and sprang up.

“ _Those things! They look human!_ ” Bradford cried, speaking the thoughts of everyone there out loud. Elena shook her head, cocking her rifle and aiming steadily.

“What was human has died, many years ago. Only the taint of the aliens survives now.” She said. The rifle cracked loudly in the silence, striking one the creatures in the head. It fell to the ground, lifeless as the other grey husks around it.

“Where there is one, more will follow. You must not hesitate to destroy them.” The two XCOM soldiers followed Elena’s example. They pressed forwards towards the extraction point and everywhere they saw the creatures, they gunned them down.

Nobody wanted to think about how these monsters got here but Elena explained nonetheless, for the sake of the Commander. She had been out of the loop for twenty years. Despite the radio silence from the Avenger, Nicoletta knew she was listening. Elena spoke of the starvation that had forced millions to swarm to the now abandoned cities, scavenging for food and water. None of those people had heeded the warnings about the pods. About the radiation that turned normal humans into the shambling horrors that now plagued the streets of the city.

Nicoletta couldn’t help but think of all the abandoned cities. Here, Alexandria, Florence, Manchester and Guadalajara. Were all of them infested by these horrible creatures? The creatures fell easily, and as they did, Dr Tygan postulated on how a human could turn into something like that. Alien radiation that caused deterioration of cells and grey matter… The further the soldiers moved, the more creatures they encountered and the more they had to kill.

“Almost at the extraction zone.” Amy confirmed, checking the navigational system on her GREMLIN. Elena huffed next to her and shot down another lost. This one had gotten too close for comfort. Amy had been able to smell it. It’s head exploded, spattering the street with grey and green sludge. As it slumped pathetically to the ground, Elena looked back at her escorts. Even with the mask obscuring her face, Amy could feel the Reaper glaring daggers at her.

“We risk all this for Pratal Mox? If he is not what you say he is I will kill him myself!” She growled. Amy and Nicoletta looked at each other with expressions of growing concern. The group of soldiers pushed forwards, heeding the warnings of Dr Tygan that a swarm of creatures was approaching them. As they finally reached the extraction point, climbed up onto the railroad track and marched down it to the meeting point, Amy and Nicoletta couldn’t help but wonder about all the ways that this meeting could go wrong…

 

* * *

 

The atmosphere inside the Skyranger was one of tense silence. The two soldiers that remained in the hold of the aircraft were silent, preparing themselves mentally for whatever might happen down on the ground. They were heading to the meet the second contact, a Skirmisher named Pratal Mox. Jane Kelly was more than a little apprehensive about having to escort Pratal Mox to the meeting point. Kelly had been fighting ADVENT her whole life. How was she supposed to trust one of them? Even if he had defected and joined a resistance cell.

Jane tried to remember what the Commander had told her. She pictured the woman’s calm voice in her head. Anyone who resists the elders is someone we must learn to trust, the Commander had said, her hand firmly resting on Jane’s shoulder. The ranger sighed and leaned her head back against her seat. She shouldn’t get worked up about a simple escort mission.

“You OK?” Jane looked over at her partner for the mission, a rookie named Michael Bennett. Michael was overwhelmingly kind; you could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. He even looked kind. Soft brown eyes inlaid in a kinder, cinnamon brown face. His chiselled jaw and muscular build should have stood in stark contrast to the kindness he displayed but instead those two features came together. Michael looked like the kind of man that would run into a burning building to rescue children and puppies. Even the Commander doted on the rookie.

“Yeah. Just nervous.” Jane said, trying for a smile. As the Skyranger shuddered to a halt and the red lights flashed on, Michael put a comforting hand on Jane’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine. I promise.” He said, making his way over to the open door and grabbing one of the steel cables that served as their way down. Jane followed suit and slid down the rope to the ground, shotgun at the ready. Michael was standing a little away from her, checking his data pad for the coordinates that should take them straight to the extraction point. The two soldiers moved steadily forward, aiming their weapons forwards, on guard for anything. The first thing they noticed was the ADVENT convoy laying on the ground, fire flickering in its dying engines.

“ _Looks like there’s trouble ahead._ ” Central said over the radio. “ _The rendezvous may have been compromised. Stay focused, check for—_ ”. Suddenly, an explosion rattled the street from behind the corner of a building.

“ _Contact! Get down!_ ” Black smoke rose in plumes and from it, came an orange clad ADVENT trooper. It ran towards them, and suddenly jerked to a halt. Its arms flailed as a hook emerged from its chest and it was pulled back into the smoke cloud. Michael and Jane stared at each other, eyes as wide as dinner plates, and ran towards the smoke, guns at the ready. As they rounded the corner of the building, they saw the ADVENT trooper. Standing over it, removing their helmet to reveal a grooved, alien face, was another ADVENT soldier. Or so it seemed. Jane looked over at Michael.

“Is that him?” She mouthed. He shook his head, uncertain.

“ _I’m guessing that’s our man. Well, our contact anyway._ ” Central said. Jane and Michael stayed back as the Skirmisher knelt down and lifted the head of the trooper.

“Kracsad.” Pratal Mox spat the word like an insult. “ADVENT… Puppet.” He looked straight into the eyes of the trooper. “Vox Tala For Ten.” He said, and then, as quick as a cobra, he jammed the blades attached to his wrist guard into the head of the trooper, straight up through the chin. Michael flinched and looked away and Jane watched as the Skirmisher’s eyes began to flicker strangely.

“They were sent here to hunt… To purge the Drak-ten—the lost.” He said. Mox finally released the hold he had on the soldier, letting it drop to the ground. He turned to look over his shoulder at the XCOM soldiers. “Our meeting point is still secure.” He announced. Michael looked down at the ADVENT trooper. Before he could speak, Mox replied to his dismayed stare. “She is free of the imposter gods. I would give anything if all my kind could say the same. Even sit down with these… Reapers.” He said. Mox placed his helmet back onto his head and walked between the two soldiers. “Now we must go.”

Jane and Michael followed the Skirmisher closely. Jane stayed slightly back, her doubts about trusting anything or anyone made by ADVENT causing her to remain mistrustful of the former death squad captain. As the three soldiers made their way down an abandoned shipyard, Mox and Central conversed over the radio.

“ _The rendezvous with Outrider is just further ahead. Proceed through this district as quickly as possible. Something tells me that this city has a few more surprises left for us_.” Central said. Mox huffed and shook his head.

“Surprises are the least of our worries. It is these Reapers of yours that are of true concern.” Mox suddenly stopped and raised a fist. Dashing forwards, he hid behind the corner of one of the many buildings at the shipyard. Michael and Jane followed his lead and saw, in the distance, two more of those orange clad ADVENT troopers. They hadn’t seen the rebels yet and were standing around, seemingly waiting for something to happen. Jane itched to pull the trigger on one of them…

“ _Don’t remember seeing these things before…_ ” Central said.

“You were not meant to.” Mox admitted. “Purifiers were created to contain the Drak-ten, the lost. We must eliminate this patrol quickly, before others arrive.” He turned to Jane and motioned for her to shoot. The ranger happily obliged, jumping out of cover and pulling the trigger on her shotgun. The gunshot rattled the remaining windows on the buildings and the Purifier, caught off guard and without cover, fell to the ground, the bullets having struck him in the neck. The other purifier spun around and brandished the large flamethrower it had as a weapon.

It dashed off to the right, towards the cover of one of the large warehouses to the right. Michael, however, was faster. He jumped up and pulled the trigger on his rifle. The purifier cried out, stumbled, and hobbled to cover, holding his hand over the growing wound in his side.

Mox wasted no time, extending his arm towards the ledge of one of the buildings, directly opposite the purifier. A grappling hook erupted from the wrist guard and latched itself into the crumbling brickwork. Mox was pulled upwards, towards the ledge and he landed somewhat gracefully. Mox reached for his bullpup and, before the purifier had time to react had pulled the trigger. The first shots glanced off of the brick wall, inches from the purifiers head. The second shot went through the purifiers skull. It fell unceremoniously to the ground with a metal thunk. Mox turned to face his escorts.

“This patrol had been liberated. May their lives not be lost in vain. We must push forwards and complete our mission!” He said, jumping down from the ledge of the building. Jane and Michael followed the Skirmisher through the rest of the dock, scanning for any other ADVENT troops.

Jane had to admit, her doubts about the Skirmisher were starting to fade. Mox, suddenly, sprinted up ahead to crouch behind an alien pod. Jane, sensing something was afoot followed closely behind, crouching next to him. Michael stayed slightly behind, hiding behind a set of crates.

“Holy shit…” Jane whispered, as she finally saw what Mox had been looking at. It wasn’t a patrol. It was an army! A massive fuel truck, surrounded by two dozen purifiers, all burning what looked like people, normal people, to smouldering crisps. Jane shook with a mix of rage and fear, as an ADVENT officer surveyed the carnage being caused. Central was saying something over the radio but Jane wasn’t listening. She watched as the purifiers burned down another person. But when Jane looked closer she realized… they weren’t people. At least, they weren’t people anymore. Mox suddenly stood, blocking Jane’s view and approached the patrol.

“Yes. One we do not have time to face.” She heard him say and watched as he raised his bullpup and fired. The bullets struck one the purifiers, causing the fuel tank on his back to rupture. He fell against the large truck and…

“Get down!” Michael cried, tackling Jane to the ground, shielding her from the blast. The sound that followed was deafening! Jane had been protected from the worst of the blast by her partner.

Michael’s ears rang and his neck felt blisteringly hot. He gasped and lifted himself off the ground. His vision was mercifully clear and he hadn’t lost too much balance either. Jane sprang up and stared at the devastation caused. Where the fuel truck had once been, there was now a smouldering black patch on the road. The windows of all the buildings had shattered from the sound impact and there wasn’t a trace of the purifiers left. Jane threw up her hands and turned to Mox.

“Great! You killed the purifiers! But that was also our extraction point!” She cried, pointing to the black crater in the street.

“ _I fear that is not the worst of it_.” The voice of Dr. Tygan announced over the radio. “ _Detecting multiple biological signatures on route to your location_.” Tygan’s voice was tense.

“The lost.” Mox said. “The sounds of combat excite them. They are drawn to it.” Jane whirled on the Skirmisher and glared daggers at him.

“And you just blew up a fuel truck?!”

“There was no other choice!” Mox shouted back. “Central, find us an alternate exit; we will deal with the lost.” Jane spun around to face the large roads that connected them to the rest of the city. In the distance, she saw the lost running towards, mouths gaping and arms flailing. She looked to Mox for guidance but he seemed as overwhelmed as her. Suddenly, Michael grabbed both of them by the shoulders, spinning them around. He pointed to a nearby stack of shipping crates, piled high into the air.

“Get to high ground!” Michael said, running towards the crates. He grabbed onto the railing on the side and began to climb up, nimble as a firefighter. Mox used his grappling hook to quickly get up to the position. Jane clambered up the side like Michael had. The moment Jane was up on the crate, Michael pointed at the large avenue that was packed full of the lost.

“Jane, you take the West avenue. Mox, keep your eyes on the courtyard. Nothing gets close enough to climb up here got it? I’ll watch the East avenue.” Michael commanded the other two soldiers with all the skill of a seasoned veteran. Jane, who had taken the rookie for nothing more than what he seemed to be, a rookie, followed the commands with an air of delighted surprise. As the three soldiers perched atop the shipping crate, the air was thick with suspense. Jane listened as the sounds of the lost grew ever closer. Their moans and growls were hair-raising and only grew more appalling the louder they got.

Finally, the lost appeared around the edges of the shipping crates and Jane opened fire. Her shotgun bucked in her hands as she shot. The lost were fast though, and soon enough were crowding the courtyard, clambering at the sides of the crates. Suddenly, one was on top of the crate with them, only to be quickly shot down by Mox. The lost flew off of the edge of the roof, landing with a sickening, dull thud.

“Drak-Lar.” Mox said, voice laced with disgust. “Dashers. They are not as docile as the rest of their kind.” Jane nodded and prepared to fire another shot. Michael was methodically shooting down each lost he could see. Jane could only wonder how a rookie like him was so strategic, so adept in combat and such a good shot! Most rookies couldn’t shoot their own foot, much less a target. Michael kept on though, stopping to reload only once. As he reloaded, Jane took his place, gunning down any lost who got too close.The group of soldiers seemed almost untouchable, up there on that crate. No lost got close enough to even clamber up the sides of the crates.

But the soldiers were tiring, and Central still hadn’t found an alternate route. The lost drew ever closer. One made it up to where the soldiers were holding position. Jane drew in a deep breath and slashed at the lost with her sword. Finally, Central’s voice rattled over the radio.

“ _We’ve found a new route that should get you to the rendezvous point. The lost are still converging on the area though so make_ _it fast!”_

“That won’t be a problem.” Mox said. Michael was the first to jump down from the crates, moving forwards and shooting lost at every step. Jane was close behind, followed by Mox. The three soldiers, covered in dust, alien blood and sweat all entered the extraction zone and breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“ _Outrider and the first team should be waiting for you up ahead. I know this wasn’t the easiest op but I have to believe it will have been worth it in the end._ ” Central sighed. The relief in his voice was tangible. Mox, who was already climbing the ladder up to the railroad track sighed almost inaudibly to himself.

“That depends on the Reapers.” Mox said. The three soldiers made their way over the railroad, towards the rendezvous point, unaware of the fact that they were being watched by something far worse than the lost.

* * *

 

The railroad bridge was deathly quiet, save for the hissing and flickering of the flares that lined each side. They cast an eerie glow across the bridge, painting everything fiery red. At both sides of the bridge, a figure appeared. One came out of an abandoned train, marching forwards with the purpose and dignity of a high-ranking military figure. The other seemed to almost glide forwards on shadows; elegant but deadly.

As Pratal Mox and Elena Dragunova approached each other on the bridge, the voice of John Bradford crackled to life on their radios.

“ _Rendezvous point directly ahead. Let’s try and play nice today people_.” He said. His voice sounded on edge and rightfully so. This was a pivotal moment for everyone. The future of the resistance could very well depend on this interaction not crashing and burning like so many others. The XCOM soldiers stood each on either side of the tracks. Jane could see Amy Roberts waving at her from across the track, bright red armor made brighter by the flares.

Elena and Mox approached each other quickly, eager to get their reluctant conversation over with.

“So,” Elena said, resting her rifle on her shoulder. “ADVENT’s most brutal captain has come to atone for his crimes!” Her tone was sardonic. Elena didn’t trust the former ADVENT captain one bit and had no intention of hiding her true feelings.

“I am no longer that being now. I am free!” Mox said. He sounded significantly kinder than Elena did, if only to try and convince her that he was actually there to talk.

“Taking of that mask doesn’t change what you are. Reapers have long memories, _kracsad_.” Elena spat that last word, made sure that it stung deep. Mox, reactive as always, growled and raised his ripjack. Elena reacted by raising her rifle, a bitter smile on her lips. “Any time.” She hissed.

Jane had to use every ounce of her self-control not to jump into the fray and break up the fight. The entire resistance depended on these two not killing each other and the diplomacy was already going to shit. Michael placed a hand on her shoulder, but Jane felt it was more to steady himself than restrain her. Jane watched as Michael leaned forwards, brows furrowed.

“ _Look, the way I see it we have two options here_.” Central’s voice quickly came over the radio, attempting to defuse the situation. “ _Join forces and kick the elders off of our planet or kill each other here and now. The choice is yours_.” He said.

Mox and Elena stared each other down. Neither of them could forgive the other for their crimes. Elena could not forget how Pratal Mox had annihilated camps of resistance fighters and Reapers alike during the first years of the war. The burning shelters and lifeless corpses weighed heavily on her mind.

Mox could not forget how Outrider and her comrades had slaughtered his people in cold, secluded places, seemingly unable to tell the difference between ADVENT and Skirmishers. How many of his brothers and sisters had she killed because of her blind hatred?

But the two resistance soldiers knew that the fate of their world, their _shared_ world, was more important than some petty rivalry. Mox was the first to lower his weapon. Elena too stepped back slightly, but was slower to lower her rifle.

Michael’s grip on Jane’s shoulder tightened.

“Somethings not right…” he whispered. Jane looked up at her partner and almost missed the quick succession of events that suddenly occurred.

Elena raised her rifle again, ignoring the cries of the XCOM soldiers behind her and fired a round. But it sped past Mox, over his shoulder towards the ethereal, silent _thing_ that had been waiting patiently behind him. Mox, recognizing the presence of the creature, spun and raised his ripjack towards the alien. He fired his grappling hook towards where the creature stood. The hook was parried out of the air and clattered to the ground as the creature came into full view. It’s disguise fell away in flakes of psionic power.

It, Jane couldn’t think of it as a person, was tall, lithe and unbelievably _alien_. The dark armor that covered its form was emblazoned with a symbol that XCOM had yet to become familiar with. Whatever traits it shared with a human stopped with the way it was shaped. The blueish purple skin, razor sharp teeth and unnatural size separated it from anything XCOM had yet to encounter. The thing bared its teeth and spoke.

“No one has ever done that before! No one shall ever do that again.” It hissed. Its voice was grating, like sandpaper over stone; a mock imitation of femininity. It flipped itself over the ledge and disappeared on a gust of psionic wind. Everyone was silent for a moment before bursting out into panicked shouts. Nicoletta shouted something in Italian, Michael ran towards the two resistance liaisons and Jane shouted an unintelligible yelp of confusion and fear. Over it all, Central spoke the words they were all thinking.

“ _What the_ hell _was that_?” He shouted. Mox removed his bullpup from his belt and brandished it towards where the thing had disappeared.

“Vox Prima. Elder Assassin. Relentless death that stalks my kind; Butcher of freed ADVENT!” He said, voice laced with a mix of fury and fear. Elena nodded, appearing next to the Skirmisher. Her expression was grim.

“My people face another like her.” She said. She shivered involuntarily as she recalled the monster that the Reapers had to face. “They are the undying. ADVENT’s curse upon us.” Elena turned to Mox, looking him dead in the eyes.

“We must combine strength if we are to have any chance of success!” Mox nodded. He was ready to fight by the Reaper’s side if it meant surviving.  
“You are welcome to try!” The creature’s voice floated across the air, mocking and arrogant.

The soldiers all huddled together next to the train and looked at each other, eyes wide.

“What the hell was that?” Jane hissed, hands on her shotgun.

“A monster? How would I know? I’ve never seen anything like it!” Nicoletta growled, reloading her weapon with haste.

Jane and Nicoletta had never seen anything like it. They had heard rumours about strange, not quite human monstrosities hunting resistance soldiers but nothing, _nothing_ , like this.

Amy and Michael were only reminded of their years trapped in ADVENT city centres. The brief flashes of Elder propaganda that rarely appeared on screen, showcasing things that did not look entirely human. More prominent members of the ADVENT administration worshiped those images, called them the children of gods.

Elena and Mox were quietly conversing with each other in hushed whispers, confirming that they both were haunted by the Elder’s pets. Suddenly, a new voice pushed through the radio, one that held such an air of authority that everyone stopped to listen.

“ _Mox and Elena. Set up next to the train. Michael and Jane, take the left side of the tracks. Nicoletta and Amy, take the right_.” It was the Commander. She had taken the reigns from Central and was doing what she did best; commanding. The XCOM soldiers responded instantly, dashing to their specified positions. Elena and Mox were slower to react. They had never heard the Commander before and were shocked to find she sounded almost _young_. As if twenty years hadn’t even passed.

“ _We are going to take this thing down. Don’t let anything stop you from getting in shots_.” She said. Suddenly, laughter sounded in the heads of the soldiers. It sounded like it was simultaneously coming from inside their heads and their radios.

“Such arrogance! The Elder’s will extends throughout the universe… I am but one of their instruments.” The Assassin hissed. Michael turned to look at his comrades.

“Who gave her our frequency?” He asked, deadly serious. Nicoletta actually laughed at that. The rest didn’t. Disconcerting enough that they had to fight the Assassin, now she was able to talk to them!

In the background, the Commander was heard rustling papers, muttering to herself until she found what she was looking for.

“ _OK, here’s what I got. According to some intel we pulled from ADVENT propoganda vaults that thing’s name is Ref-Mai Tessura. ADVENT calls her ‘Nightblade’…_ ” The Commander trailed off as the rest of the group digested the information. A name to their monster. “ _Make use of explosives_.” The Commander ordered. Jane jolted at that information.

“But Commander! The lost—”

“ _Doesn’t matter! Do as I say_.” The Commander wasn’t going to be disagreed with. Jane nodded, conceding to the will of her superior. Silence followed in deafening waves. Everyone knew that the Assassin was coming, but from where? Nicoletta, suddenly incensed, moved along the side of the track, staying in cover but not hiding either. Nicoletta stopped as she saw the air beside one of the buildings shimmer. She squinted and then…

“Gotcha’ bitch!” She yelled, leveling her mini-gun at the Assassin, who jumped away so fast that cats would be jealous. The Assassin ran towards the bridge, brandishing her sword. Nicoletta kept firing, bullets sparking off of the concrete ground. The alien darted out of view, under the bridge. For a tense second, no one moved. Guns were raised and eyes darted about. Had the Assassin hidden herself? Had she been hit?

Faster than a lightning strike, the Assassin appeared on the bridge. Her sword flashed and struck out like a serpent and penetrated Nicoletta just between where her shoulder and her arm connected. The fibrous tissue ruptured and Nicoletta fell to the ground screaming. Her mind was a flurry of pain and shock. Her vision melted away from the sheer, icy pain caused by the Assassin’s blade. The Assassin stepped back, flicking Nicoletta’s blood from her sword with a flourish.

“Consider yourself lucky. Most would not survive such a strike.” She rasped. “Shall I ferry your soldier back to my stronghold, where they can tell me about your operations more freely?” The Assassin turned towards the other soldiers, ready to strike them down, strike them all down! Only to be met with the butt of a gun in her face. It wasn’t enough to actually hurt her, she was far too resilient for that, but the Chosen was stunned. She spun wildly to face the soldier who had ran past her.

Michael was helping Nicoletta up, snapping her out of the daze she was in. He got the medkit off of his belt, spraying the liquid bonding agent directly into the wound. He turned to glare at the Assassin, supporting Nicoletta with one arm, pushing the severed limb back to its rightful place. The Assassin hissed and brandished her sword once again.

The sound of a machete whizzing through the air drew the Assassin’s attention and she turned to parry the strike. As Jane’s sword met the Chosen’s, Elena sprang into action. The Reaper jumped up and took something from inside her the pocket of her chest strap. It was a bomb, covered in a sticky glue. Elena threw the claymore directly at the Assassin, letting it clamp to her back. The Assassin, surprised by the cold explosive now attached to her back, jumped back and tried peel it off. Her long fingers scraped the edge of the weapon, and Elena turned to Mox.

“Fire at the claymore!” She shouted. Mox raised his bullpup, aiming wildly at the back of the Assassin and fired.

The explosion was deafening, but not as much as the inhuman cry of the Assassin. When the dust cleared, most of her right shoulder was gone and she was screaming, _screaming_ , so loudly. Her arm hung grotesquely by her side, useless. Jane took the opportunity to blast the Assassin with her shotgun, taking off the rest of her arm with a deafening blast. The now useless limb fell to the ground with a sickening thud and the Assassin stumbled back, breathing heavily. She gasped for breath and then, let out a short laugh.

“I had not expected this conflict to so… exhilarating!” The Assassin gasped. She stepped back towards the edge of the bridge. “You surprise me XCOM. Still, the Elder’s will is that no one survive this day. I cannot leave that to fortune.” She hissed. The Assassin vanished into the air, leaving a trail of psionic sparks in her wake.

The soldiers stood in silence, waiting for something, anything to happen. Then, like a thunderclap, the loudest sound any of them had ever heard rang out from one of the alien pods on the streets.

Jane clamped her hands over her ears, trying to block to noise but it seemed to penetrate her very being. Her bones rattled and her heart thumped as loud as the pod itself. Finally, the sound seemed to dim somewhat and the voice of Dr Tygan rattled in their ears.

“ _The sonic dispersal waves emitting from that thing are criss-crossing the entire city_!” He said. Elena cursed as the familiar sound of the lost approaching filled the streets.

“Which means that thing just rang the dinner bell for every lost in the city!” She shouted. The lost converged on the street beneath them, inhuman growls rattling in their throats.

Jane swore and began shooting the closest lost. Amy joined her, picking off lost further in the distance. Michael and Nicoletta were still huddled together, trying to stave off the worst of the shock. Nicoletta held her shoulder up with one hand, face scrunched up in a visage of pure agony.

Amy’s GREMLIN suddenly pinged loudly as the coordinates to the evacuation point appeared. Amy looked over them and stood up.

“Evacuation point confirmed! Only one problem with it.” She shouted. The rest of the soldiers looked over at Amy, who pointed down into the horde of lost below. “We have to go straight through them.” The soldiers all looked down at the swarm, then at each other. Michael stood first, supporting Nicoletta with one arm.

“ _You’ll run and gun through them. Nicoletta is unable to shoot however, so you need to pick your targets carefully_.” The voice of the Commander filtered through their radios. Jane nodded and turned to Mox and Elena.

“Think you can work together long enough to get us out of here alive?” She asked. The two soldiers looked at each other, eyes locking. Elena nodded and loaded extra ammunition into place.

The six soldiers all descended the ladder down to the street below, directly into the swarm of lost waiting for them. Elena moved around the horde like a ghost, picking off any lost who got a little too close to the other soldiers. Jane and Amy moved like a well-oiled machine, shooting and reloading as needed, covering each other. Mox shot his way through the horde of lost, steady and resilient as a tidal wave. When one of the lost got close, he would lash out with his ripjack, slicing cleaning through the things neck. The group fought through the street, through the abandoned shopping mall and cramped back rooms and onto the plaza where the evac point should be. But there was nothing there. Elena swore loudly as she gunned down another lost.

“Outrider to Firebrand! Where the _hell_ is our exit?” She barked. From above them, the familiar sound of the Skyranger’s engines appeared and the ship arrived. It opened its hatch just above the roof of an old van.

“ _This is as low as I can get her!_ ” Firebrand shouted. The XCOM soldiers wasted no time getting aboard the ship, jumping up into the open hatch as fast as possible.

Elena and Mox were still trapped on the ground. The lost converged on them, pushing in ever closer from each side. They were being overwhelmed and the Skyranger couldn’t stay that close to the ground forever.

“Go!” Mox shouted. Elena turned towards the Skirmisher. She was glad for her mask, so Mox couldn’t see the tormented expression on her face. Mox turned towards her.

“I do not intend to die this die!” He turned back to the horde of lost, firing his bullpup into them. Elena sprinted up the van and jumped clear into the Skyranger. Mox kept firing, intent on surviving long enough to get to safety. But the lost were everywhere, pushing in on all sides, closer and closer and one was behind Mox, hands on the fur lined edge of his armor—

The lost fell with a crack and Mox looked up at the Skyranger. Elena stood in the still open hatch, rifle raised towards the lost. By the time Mox had made it to the roof of the truck, the lost had fallen back, swiftly reduced in number by the combined efforts of the Reaper and Skirmisher. Mox looked up at Elena and she could swear that she could see him smiling underneath that mask. Elena extended her hand, reaching out to Mox.

Mox suddenly stumbled and raised his hands to his neck. A gust of wind, and the cloak fell away in purple flakes. The Assassin stood behind Mox, her one strong arm wrapped around his neck. Elena’s heart jack-hammered as the Assassin gave the Skirmisher a sharp toothed grin.

“Time to return home, _traitor_!” The Assassin hissed. In a beam of bright, purple light, the Assassin, and Mox, vanished. Elena lowered her rifle as she heard the soldiers behind her shouting in dismay. They yelled obscenities and hurled curses at the Assassin, but Elena could only muster a single word.

“No…”

**Author's Note:**

> So, everything in this fic was based on my own XCOM campaign! The Soldiers, the injuries sustained and the things said by Bradford and Tygan.


End file.
